


The Price of Paradise

by CNCloudy



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Author is not shy of giving sad endings, Cottagecore Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Cringe, Dadza, Eret Dream and Tubbo are Siblings, Flashback, Gonna be a slow upload, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Non-beta (for now), Other, PTSD, Pain, Triggers, angst with happy ending, first fic, heavily inspired, lots of pain, lotta sad, mama puffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:41:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29961099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CNCloudy/pseuds/CNCloudy
Summary: Dream runs away to start a new life, but both with his friends around every corner, and past constantly haunting him, will he be able to move on? Or will he be lost in the past forever?First fanfic cringe warning!
Kudos: 26





	The Price of Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> First fanfiction, cottagecore Dream. I don't ship anyone, all they're all either close friends or family. Inspired by Blanc_et_Noir and caydiink (gayleb)'s cottagecore Dream fics. Go check them out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, just a warning, this is my first fanfiction--so yeah. I might get a beta, but as of now they're undecided.

Dream is used to running, just not like this. He was normally in control, ten steps ahead of his pursuers and only thinking after acting.  
That was the only way to cope. It wasn’t like they would know, anyways. That was why he had the mask.  
But this time it is different. This time he can’t act. This time it isn’t a game.  
And he is the prize.

He crashes into the gate of his base and pulled it out of the way. How had he gotten there? Just a few seconds ago he had been travelling through the forest. It took hours to go from L’Manburg to here.  
It had happened again. It had been going on for longer than he could remember. The blackouts. He had had Tubbo check it out, even exorcise him, but nothing worked. Dream had researched all kinds of spirits and demons, even found a book on the mysterious form of corruption known as the Egg, but nothing suited his case. All of the victims described watching events as if through a window, but Dream remembered nothing. Only what his friends told him. And what they said wasn’t good.  
Maybe that was why he had the whole server chasing him.  
Dream crashes through the corridors of his base, footsteps echoing behind him. Shouts from his family friends allies enemies haunt him. He ducks into a hidden closet behind a tapestry.  
Maybe he should review.

The first thing he knew was that the last thing he remembered before the fight was that sad night. It was after Wilbur had gotten exiled, before his brother Tubbo was executed. He and his siblings met up in a hidden field, on the far edge of the SMP, beneath the stars. The last time he saw them before the fight.  
They came from different directions, meeting in the middle of the out-of-the-way meadow, right on the site of their old house. The ruins were gone, long since blown away, but the three stood there, silently. Then, suddenly, they were on their knees, gripping each other tightly. Tubbo shook with sobs and Dream could feel tears tracing his face under the mask. Eret comforted them. Dream kept apologizing, over and over because he didn’t remember anything, but he knew whenever he blacked out he did horrible things.  
But they didn’t know about the blackouts. Nobody did. It was better that way.  
Right?  
The next thing he knew was waking up. This was the longest blackout ever. He woke up after months, maybe even a year. The only way he knew was the dates in the journal he had fallen asleep holding. But aside from the dates, the rest of the journal was illegible. He could see the writing and translate it from the strange code he had learned to write in, but it didn’t stick in his brain. He ignored it for the time being. He was in his bunker, but things were different. There were things here that didn’t belong. Disturbing things. So he did what he always did.  
He tried to find his siblings.  
Except that when he left the bunker and went to L’Manburg, it wasn’t there. There was a huge crater.  
What had he done?  
Then ran. He ran until he found a huge structure, scraping the sky. Dark and ominous. A prison. That didn’t make sense. Who would have been bad enough that they would want to imprison him? Shlatt, maybe?  
Then it hit him. The prison was for Dream. Not for anyone else. Dream. Panicking, Dream ran to the most comforting place possible. The community house. But the sight there left him speechless.  
The community house was gone, in pieces, the only thing left being the floor and parts of the frame. The entire upper floor was gone. But most terrifying was the group of people there, fully armed, standing together. They were ready for war, and Dream could guess who they were against pretty easily.  
Dream scanned the crowd. The faces that stuck out most were Technoblade, Eret and Tubbo. Techno would never side with the government. Unless, of course, he had a common goal. Another thing that stuck out was Wilbur, but that couldn’t be Wilbur. Wilbur had been so lively and determined last time Dream saw him. The strange grey specter hiding in the back of the crowd wasn’t Wilbur. He was like an imposter…or a shadow. A shadow of the man Dream knew.  
Eret looked determined but sad. His eyes were inscrutable behind his glasses, but Dream could see the disappointment in his stance. Tubbo looked terrified. That broke Dream’s heart. The fact that his brother, his baby brother, was scared of him. What had he done?  
The third thing he knew was that the battle that followed was horrifying and bloody. Dream had woken up in his armor, with his weapons, so that was lucky, but it did little against the horde of people. He fought everyone at once, dealing soft blows with the blunt of his axe or the flat of his blade, serving only to push the opponents back, away from him. Arrows slid through chinks in his armor, and each piece broke bit by bit, until Dream had only his chest plate left.  
Spying a chance to escape, Dream rushed through a gap in the mob only to run into Technoblade, the Blood God himself. This was the real challenge, as only Techno knew Dream’s strategies, even though it should be impossible to do so, Techno understood that every few seconds, the fighting style would change. It was the only way Dream could keep on top in a fight, this way nobody could analyze him, memorize the way he fought. But Technoblade had been trained by the same people, he knew how to gauge Dream’s attacks and stay, possible not ahead of Dream, but at least on the same level as Dream.  
Usually, Dream would have been up to the challenge. But now he was hurt, at least three different poisons coursing through his veins, he had been stabbed multiple times, his leg impaled, and he had at least four arrows stuck in him. When Techno levelled his rocket launcher at Dream, all he could do was roll to the side.  
The explosion missed him by inches. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, Dream crawled to his feet, only to get kicked in the back and sent down again. Dream rolled over. Technoblade raised his pickaxe and tried to knock Dream out, but Dream raised his arm instinctually. The pickaxe slammed into his wrist, and Dream could feel the bone twist and break. Technoblade’s eyes widened, and Dream saw an expression flit across his face—was that guilt?—Dream was in too much pain to tell. He felt blood fill his mouth as he bit his tongue to prevent his scream building up.  
Dream didn’t have time for this, he needed to get out. He grabbed his axe, eyes watering from the pain but still holding in his scream, he gets up and runs. Technoblade didn’t stop him, Dream isn’t sure why. He had made it to the doorway of the community house, swinging his axe with both hands, when a hand grabbed the back of Dream’s shirt. He whirled around, raising his axe.  
Tubbo, eyes wide in fear, hand still outstretched, stood quivering before Dream. Dream lowered his axe and the two stood and stared at each other. Dream was soaked in his own blood, arrows sticking out of him like bristles, mask now cracked down the middle, breaths coming in gasps. Tubbo’s shirt was tattered, his flower crown falling apart, and the bees that usually hung about him were nowhere to be seen. But in Tubbo’s eyes was a silent invitation, a hand extended. Dream was so close, so close, to taking it.  
Then it all went wrong.  
A sword swung into his ribs from the side. Dream pushed Tubbo away and glanced to his right. His breath caught. Fundy stood there, absolute hatred smoldering in his eyes. Pain filled Dream’s chest like acid. He could tell that the gash was deep. Dream stumbled, steadying himself on the doorway, good hand gripping his chest as he turned and stumbled into the forest.  
That was the final thing he knew: The chase. He wanted to stop, wanted to collapse, let it all end, but his training, that damn training, kept him going, kept him moving and on his feet, even though he was past half-dead. He ran until he found his bunker, the only thing keeping him ahead of his pursuers was the fact that he knew this forest, uncharted as it was.

A slamming brings Dream gasping out of his flashbacks. They have found him. Something is slamming against Dream’s door, a constant thud. Thud. Thud. He sees the wood begin to splinter. Dream starts to panic. Looking for an escape. How had he been so stupid, locking himself up in a closet with no escape?  
Dream desperately claws at the walls, searching for a way out. Finally, he spies a vent in the corner of the room. Large enough to crawl through, now that he shed his armor. It led directly to the outdoors. He pries it open and thrusts his shoulder through, yelping in pain, before shoving the rest of his torso and dragging his legs behind him. As soon as he leaves, he hears the door crash inwards. Dream tries to stand, but collapses. Dragging himself to his feet, Dream calls on the power of his patron.  
Suddenly he is light, light as a bird, all pain forgotten. Dream darts into the forest, weaving through the trees, until the shouting fades and the chaos is left behind.

Dream reaches a beautiful valley, filled with all kinds of flowers. To the east, a magnificent teal ocean with lights further out to indicate a coral reef. To the west, a forest of oak and birch, stretching on to become dark oak (this was where he came from). To the north, huge snowy mountains with spruce marching up the sides. And to the south, a sparkling river filled with salmon and squid. Right where Dream stands, in the center of it all, is a valley full of flowers, tulips, lilies, sunflower, all of them. Crickets chirp, and somewhere in the forest a wolf howls. Since when was it nighttime?  
Dream decides here and now that this is where he will build a new life. Away from chaos and people. Safe and secure. They wouldn’t find him. Just as he comes to this conclusion, his blessing wears off and he crumples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it--hooray! Comments and kudos motivate me. Next chapter out maybe soon. I'll try to update one to two times a week, but no guarantees. I have school, soo...
> 
> Also, I am heavily inspired by caydiink (gayleb) and Blanc_et_Noir. Go check out their fanfics (not only the cottagecore ones, they have many beautiful works!) So what are you doing here? Go show them some love!!


End file.
